No one is going to repeal the second law
of thermodynamics, not even the Democrats.

-- Kenneth Boulding, 1970

Energy is the ultimate resource and, at the same time, the
ultimate pollutant. The solar energy continuously intercepted by Earth drives the geophysical and ecological
machinery that make the planet's surface habitable by
human beings. The remarkable growth of the human
population and the development of civilizations are
attributable largely to the singular progress of our species
in learning to harness natural flows and accumulations of
energy and turn them to human ends. Human beings
have learned to tame fire for warmth and light and
protection; to organize (and later subsidize) photosynthesis as agriculture, thus allowing people to specialize
and thereby promoting the growth of cities; to tap the
energy of wind and running water for transportation and
mechanical work; and to unlock the concentrated energy
of coal and oil for extracting, concentrating, transporting,
and applying the many other resources upon which
society depends.

Yet, no means of harnessing energy--and no means of
applying it--is completely free of adverse environmental

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